Boot or shoe



Aug. 19, 1930.

w. A. JOHNSON BOOT OR SHOE Filed Dec. 11, 1929 Patented A. 19,1930

i TED STATES PATENT OFFICE gwILEmm A. JOHNSON, or MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, AssIGNoE 'ro wooEEUEY sHoE MFG. 00., or DEEEY, NEW HAMPSHIRE, A CORPORATION or NEW HAMPSHIRE BOOT OR SHOE.

' Application filed December 11, .1929. Serial No. 413,262.

My present invention relates to a novel and improved boot or shoe, and to a novel method of manufacturing the same.

y invention contemplates the provision of a shoe in which the upper materials are so formed as to present an ornamental and attractive interwoven appearance.

Heretofore, in the manufacture of interwoven upper materials for boots or shoes, various methods have been practiced. One of these has consisted in weaving the upper materials under the so-called textile process, wherein the exposed upper materials are composed of interlaced strips of various ma-' terials. Many disadvantages are present in this type of shoe upper. The materials are flimsy, are difiicult to pull over the last, and. in the completed shoe, do not hold their shape in a desirable manner. Another method has been to prepare the upper materials with a plurality of long slits, and then to weave strips of desired material through said slits. This has also been a more or less unsatisfactory method of manufacture, due to the fact that the upper materials are considerably weakened by the formation of the long slits therein, and to the fact that it is an impossibility to obtain evenness of spacing of the interwoven strips, these strips working up or down along the slits when the shoe is Worn, as well as during the various steps and processes of manufacture. Shoes constructed according to the latter method also do not hold their shape in a satisfactory manner.

My present invention obviates and eliminates the difiiculties above briefly described, and enables the production of a shoe in which the woven upper materials,'whether vamp, quarter, tongue or other portions, will be ossessed of substantially their full original strength and shape-holding characteristics.

Another feature of my invention resides in the fact that I am enabled to maintain consistent evenness of the strips which are woven in the upper materials, thus presenting numerous highly ornamental effects. In carrying out my present invention, I preferably utilize the process illustrated and described in my prior and co-pending application, Serial No. 368,839, filed June 6, 1929. As

described in said application, the upper materials, or predetermined portions thereof, are provided with a plurality of rows of slits, these rows being preferably equi-spaced, and

the individual slits in each row being also.

preferably equi-spaced and parallel with each other. Through these slits are then woven, in accordance with said prior application, strips of any desired material, although I preferably use leather for both the upper material and the strips. In this manner I am enabled to produce many pleasing, attractive, and ornamental effects, since I may utilize strips of a color contrasting with the color of the upper portion which is woven. Also, if desired, I may construct a shoe having just the vamp so treated, or the quarter, or the tongue if one be utilized. Or I may desire to weave the vamp and quarter, or vamp, quarter and tongue, utilizing different colors both for the main parts of the upper ma terials and still further different or contrasting colors for the threaded strips in each portion. All of these various features are obviously all well within the scope of my present invention.

Furthermore, by constructing these shoes along the lines of the method illustrated and described in my said prior and copending application, I am enabled to speed up production, to decrease cost of manufacture, and at the same time to produce an extremely attractive, strong, neat and inexpensive shoe.

The advantages of my novel shoe, and of the method of manufacturing same, will be instantly apparent to those skilled in this art, and since I believe that said shoe and process are novel, and represent distinct and marked steps forward in the shoe industry, I have therefore claimed the same broadly in this application.

Referring to the drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe illustrating both the vamp and quarter constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional View on the lin 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional fragmentary detail of said shoe; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a woven quarter before incorporation in the shoe.

Referring now to the drawings, for a particular description of the invention, my novel shoe comprises a vamp 1, and quarter 2. These members, or either of them as an initial step in the process of manufacture, are provided with a plurality of rows of slits 3, these rows being preferably equi-spaced, and theslits in each row being parallel and also preferably equi-spaced.

Strips 4 of desired material and of desired color are woven through these slits, in accordance with the invention defined in my said prior application, the strips 4 being then trimmed flush with the periphery of the upper piece so woven, producing an upper woven section such as the quarter 4 illustrated in or more, are then assembled with a lining 12, and edge trimming 14, usual stitching 15 being preferably utilized to unite these parts, as well as to secure the ends of the strips 4. The upper as thus far constructed is then assembled, on a last 6 and insole 5. and in the case of a welt shoe, as illustrated herein,

the usual inseam stitching 8 is then applied.

Thereupon a filler 9 is applied to the shoe bottom cavity, and an outsole 10 is thenunited to the welt 7 by usual welt stitching l1. Thereupon the heel 13, of any desired height, is applied in the usual manner and the shoe completed.

Although I have illustrated, in the present application, a welt shoe, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that my invention is equally adaptable to McKay shoes, or turn shoes, or to any type of boot, shoe, slipper or sandal.

It will also be apparent, from an inspection of the drawing, that in the upper portion which is Woven, whether vamp or quarter, the material and color of said portion predominates over the material and color of the strips 4. This predomination of the upper materials over the strips which are woven therethrough presents a unique and attractive appearance in the finished shoe.

Furthermore, because of the fact that the woven upper materials are provided only with a plurality of short slits, substantially the entire strength of the said upper materials is retained, facilitating pulling over, lasting, stitching, and other steps during the process of manufacture of said shoes. Also the inseam stitching 8 secures the strips 4 at the bottom edges of the upper materials, while the stitching 1'5 secures the said strips at the other edges of said upper materials, thus preventing pulling out of the said strips during wear. My novel shoe, also, retains its shape in wear equally as well as a shoe in which the upper materials are not woven.

Due to the method by which I weave the upper materials of my novel shoe, there is substantially no distortion of the woven My invention is further described and defined in the form of claims as follows:

1. In a boot or shoe, 3, one piece upper section provided with rows of relatively short slits, the slits in each row being disposed in spaced side to side relation, the ends of the slits in each row being spaced outwardly from the ends of the slits in the next adjacent row and there being a continuous unslitted integral upper section strip between each adjacent pair of said rows of slits coextensive with said rows of slits, and a strip separate from the upper section .woven through the slits of each row.

2. In a boot or shoe, an upper section provided with rows of relatively short slits, the slits in each row being disposed in spaced side to side relation, the ends of the slits in each 7 row being spaced outwardly from the ends of the slits in the next adjacent row and there being a continuous unslitted integral upper section strip between each adjacent pair of VILLI-AM A. JOHNSON. 

